Something New
by elevenghosts
Summary: Post Homecoming. Two one-shots about Peter meeting and interacting with Bucky Barnes for the first time after what happened in Germany and the one time he gets to meet the Winter Soldier.


The first time Peter met Bucky was in a small café in Vienna.

Sure, Peter had seen him at the airport in Germany before, had even successfully managed to battle him and Sam for some time. But that did not really count, Peter had decided. Because he had met him as Spider-Man and not as Peter Parker. All Bucky had seen was his flashy red and blue Spider-Man suit. Only his voice could have been an indicator, and he was quite sure that it always sounded a bit muffled because of the mask.

Tony, Rhodey and Peter were the first ones to arrive. Outside it was snowing heavily, a bit unusual for October, and Peter was glad Tony had picked a rather small café that was cosy and well heated. While the two Avengers were wearing winter coats, Tony had shut his eyes in dismay after looking at Peter's winter jacket and had mumbled something about buying him a ton of new clothes. Peter had protested. After walking through the snow-covered city, Peter would not merely say that he was cold. He was freezing his ass off. His socks inside his boots were already a bit wet because of the snow and his hair was covered with snowflakes. The minute they entered the café, Peter smiled delighted, happy to be inside, and Tony shot him an _I-told-you-so_ look.

The three of them sat down at one of the three tables and Peter wondered if they had chosen it strategically or randomly, but did not dare to ask the question. Tony had been considerably quiet throughout the whole flight, the look on his face clearly stated that he did not wish to be bothered with everything that was not more important than this meeting. Therefore, Peter had tried his best to keep quiet on the hourlong flight and only had shot glances at his mentor every few minutes. Even now, the three of them sat in silence, with Rhodey looking at the menu, Tony staring at the wall as if his life depended on it and Peter scanning the room, taking in every detail of the little café. If the reason they were here would not be so serious, Peter would have enjoyed himself.

The young waitress approached them with a genuine smile and Tony ordered them something, his eyes still glued to the wall. (" _Two cappuccinos and some hot chocolate for the hyperactive kid"_ ). Normally, Peter would have frowned, but something in Tony's behaviour made him a bit uncomfortable too.

"Sooooo", Peter began, slightly uneasy. "What…. how…. nice place."

Tony nodded absent-mindedly, briefly looking out of the window before focusing on the wall again. At least there were some posters and pictures he could fake looking at, Peter thought. The waitress – who was named Marlene, according to her name tag – brought three large cups to their table and, after another warm smile, went back to where she had been sitting before, reading a book and every now and then taking some notes. Peter couldn't say what the book was about, but she probably was studying for an exam or something, he guessed.

The next one to arrive was Black Widow. Huh. Blonde hair? Peter had not paid her much attention back in Germany, but he was sure the last time he'd seen her the woman was red-haired. When the door closed behind her, Black Widow quickly scanned the room, before a smile appeared on her face. "Hey fellas", she greeted the three of them smugly and sat down next to Rhodey. "Long time no see."

She leaned forward and looked at Peter and then at Tony. And nodded. Peter was not sure if it was a nod of approval or not – he'd grown a bit since Germany and his voice was deeper now, which was a definite plus. But then again, Black Widow had also only met him as Spider-Man once, not as Peter Parker.

Tony just nodded as he glanced at her. He did not say anything else, didn't ask her questions, so Peter just assumed that he must have had contact with the woman regularly. As soon as Natasha had ordered a coffee, the door opened again. Cold winter air flooded the room as a small number of people in black coats stumbled in.

Right next to the wall Tony had been staring at stood Captain America, Hawkeye, Falcon and…. the Winter Soldier. Peter could see Tony's jaw clenching. He was not sure if the Winter Soldier also being here was new information for him or not. At least he was not looking at the wall anymore. That would have been quite awkward.

"Tony."

"Rogers."

Both men were staring at each other for a few seconds before Tony gestured to the empty seats on the other side of their table. Captain America ("Steve. Just call him Steve", Tony had told Peter after he'd asked him how he should address him) nodded and walked over to where they were sitting.

It was like a show-down in a Hollywood western, Peter thought. Both teams sitting at the table across from each other. Hawkeye and Black Widow and Steve and Tony were facing one another respectively, Sam took a seat so he could sit face-to-face with Rhodey.

Silence.

Okay, maybe the whole Tony-and-the-wall-thing had not been the most awkward thing of the day.

Apparently, everyone at the table was trying to be polite, as nobody said a word until the new arrivals had ordered and received their coffees. Only once, after shooting a glance at Peter, Captain America seemed like he was about to say something, but decided to stay quiet. However, the minute Marlene was gone, the arguing started immediately. Peter wondered if she had been informed that a bunch of Avengers would come to her workplace in order to have one of the most heated discussions of the year, because when he glanced at where she was sitting, Peter noticed she was wearing headphones and was focused on her book.

Peter did not even understand half of what the others were talking about, to be honest. Initially, Tony had refused to take Peter with them. But Peter had told him that if he had been important enough for Germany, then he was important enough to be there, considering that they were only meeting to _talk_. That had hit the mark, Peter had been allowed to come along. But, and Tony had made that very clear, the deal included Peter being allowed to be there, but not being allowed to take an active part in the discussion. " _You don't know everything. So just sit there and let the adults do the talking_." And Peter was determined to keep his promise.

He was sitting next to Tony, his eyes glued to Captain America ( _Steve. Just call him Steve_ ). He seemed to be tired, his eyes sometimes avoiding Tony's. Was he nervous? Peter saw him shaking his head, looking down, nodding. Maybe he should start listening, Peter thought. Falcon was quietly talking to Rhodey, sometimes shooting glances in Steve's and Tony's direction, and their conversation seemed to be much more tranquil and relaxed. Hawkeye and Black Widow were talking with hushed voices, ignoring the rest of them.

Peter had to keep himself from smiling. He knew that this was an important moment and he shouldn't do anything to disturb it. But, god, it was so damn cool! He was sitting at the same table as Captain America – even if the man probably did not find the situation as thrilling as he did.

Only then, when Peter managed to tear his eyes away from Captain America, he noticed that he was sitting across from the Winter Soldier.

He didn't look like a ruthless assassin, Peter thought. With his blue sweater on, his cheeks still reddened from the cold air and a large cup of coffee in his hands, the man did not even look as intimidating as Peter had thought he would. His eyes were fixed on the cup he was holding. Only now and then he quickly looked out of the window before focusing on his coffee again. But Peter was sure he was listening.

Maybe he should be listening too?

Peter decided against it. When he would be listening he certainly would want to interfere, and then Tony would never allow him to come with him again. Furthermore, right now he was more fascinated by the man in front of him. A million questions and thoughts were crossing his mind, one more interesting than the other.

" _Not the right time to ask questions. Not the right time to ask questions. Not the right time…"_ , Peter kept thinking, trying to clear his mind. The Winter Soldier did not appear as if he was aware of Peter's internal struggle and even if he'd been, Peter was sure he would have just ignored him. Somehow, he seemed to be just as nervous as Tony had been before they had arrived. Only that he was staring at the cup of coffee instead of a wall.

"How does your arm work?"

"Excuse me?"

Whoops. Had he said that out loud? Damn. He was not good at keeping his mouth shut and even worse at sticking to his own plans. The Winter Soldier was not looking at the cup anymore, he noticed. He was staring at him bewildered. Oh shit.

"I-It's only, ever since the airport-incident I'm asking myself a few questions concerning…", he trailed off, unsure how to continue without being impolite. Peter thought for a moment and then decided to forget about the rules of acceptable behaviour. He leaned forward slightly so that he would not have to talk that loud for the others to understand what he was saying.

"Isn't it awfully heavy? How do you keep your balance when jumping from buildings and everything? Doesn't it hurt when it's so cold outside? Do you sometimes need maintenance? How do you find clothes that fit both your arms and isn't too loose or something? Do you wear gloves when you go outside? How do you find gloves that fit both your hands? Can you feel something when you touch things?"

Bucky only raised an eyebrow at this. For a moment, Peter was sure that he'd insulted him with his many questions and was already forming an apology in his mind. Instead, he received a question in return.

"How old are you?", Bucky asked calmly.

He scanned Peter for a moment, then frowned and looked back at the cup in his hands. Why kept everyone asking him this? The thief Peter had stopped two weeks ago, the old lady whose handbag was stolen earlier this summer, the two idiots who tried to break into a coffee shop.

"Sixteen. And you?"

Bucky snorted.

"You are practically a baby."

"Aren't you a centenarian?"

The first real smile appeared on Bucky's face and something – and Peter was not sure what it was – appeared in his eyes. He suddenly looked happier than he had a few seconds ago. Somehow, Peter liked it. He had also enjoyed cheering up May when she'd had a tough day at work. The first time he had managed to make her laugh after his uncle's death had felt like a true victory.

Bucky took a sip of coffee.

"Well, since we are asking questions now", he began, "how do you stick to the walls and the ceiling?"

Huh. That was unexpected.

"I-I don't know", Peter answered. "I just do. It just comes with being an enhanced human, I guess. Spider-abilities and so on. But it's cool. I love to read while hanging from the ceiling. It's Comfortable. Calming."

"Calming", Bucky echoed, sounding doubtful. He shook his head in disbelief.

"You didn't answer any of my questions", Peter reminded him and hoped he didn't appear too pushy. But his arm _did_ interest him. He loved science but he knew he could not just go and google it and he sure as hell would not go and ask Tony any of the questions.

"Well, it's not as heavy as you think it is", Bucky muttered before taking another sip of coffee. Peter nodded as if that was the most interesting thing he could have said, which in turn made Bucky raise his eyebrow again. For a second, Peter was sure he caught a smile on the man's face, but it disappeared quickly.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Peter wanted to know more but was clever enough to stay quiet. He didn't want the other man to feel like he was in the middle of an interrogation. He glanced at Tony and noticed he was still arguing with Steve, Rhodey and Sam. They were not paying attention to their surroundings. Marlene, the waitress, was still reading.

"Why are you here today?"

Now it was Peter's turn to be caught off guard.

"Uh, what?"

Bucky smiled at this, leaning forward. Was he copying him?

"Why are you here today?", the former assassin asked again, this time slowly. The smile had disappeared again. Was it his time to be interrogated now?

Peter had no answer to this. At least not an answer that would not sound childish, so he shrugged his shoulders. "Because of the coffee and the atmosphere."

"This is hot chocolate."

Peter downed the rest of his hot chocolate. "That was only for starters."

Bucky snorted and shook his head again. "So, you do not… have a specific function today?", he asked him again but seemed as if he already knew the answer. He looked kind of surprised, Peter thought.

"Not that I know of", Peter said slowly and briefly looked at the others. They were still arguing. Tony suddenly turned his focus on Clint, saying something.

"What are they talking about?", Peter asked quietly, more to himself. Damn. He should have listened to their discussion because he was pretty sure Tony would not want to tell him the details later.

"I think he is offering him something", Bucky muttered back, not looking up. Whether he did not care or he was trying his best to be _inconspicuous, Peter could not tell._

"Making him an offer he can't refuse?"

"What?"

"Godfather", Peter answered nonchalantly and then, when he noticed Bucky's puzzlement, he quickly added, "That's a film. Well, a trilogy. You should watch it sometimes. Mafia. In New York."

"You talk too much."

Peter pressed his lips together. That, he thought, was something the criminals in Queens kept telling him too. He remembered his promise and tried his best to stay silent, which was not easy considering how many Avengers were sitting at the same table. God, this evening was so cool. Sure, the others looked rather stressed out, but at least their behaviour was civilized this time.

"Do your parents know what you are doing?" Bucky suddenly asked him.

Nope. Too personal, Peter decided.

He considered ignoring the question or answering it with a quip, but his attention was drawn to the discussion next to them when he heard someone mention his name. Tony was scowling, Captain America was looking away, Rhodey had his eyes closed. Huh. Whatever was going on now, it was nothing Peter wanted to be a part of. He looked away, focusing on his empty cup.

"You still in school?", Bucky asked him with something u _ndefinable_ in his voice. Peter dropped his gaze, not sure if he wanted to talk about school now. Not that he was failing classes, his grades were still great. Tony and he talked about that topic every now and then and their discussions usually ended with Tony having headaches. He tried his best to keep the Spider-Man and the Peter Parker aspects of his life apart. Therefore, he ignored the question and hoped that he did not appear rude.

After a few seconds, Bucky looked like he was not expecting an answer anymore, so Peter felt a bit less guilty. He tried to listen what the others next to them were talking about now and nearly laughed out loud when he caught himself staring at Tony's wall.

Whether the evening was a success or not, Peter couldn't tell, but when Captain America, Hawkeye, Bucky and Sam rose, the atmosphere was not as tense as it had been before. Peter waved goodbye to Bucky, before turning his head towards Tony and Rhodey. Black Widow was nowhere to be seen.

" _How did she do that?_ ", Peter thought, amazed.

Tony was massaging his palms as the three were sitting in silence, waiting for nothing in particular to happen. Peter would have loved to bombard them with a thousand questions, some more important than the others, but remembered the deal he had agreed to and therefore stayed silent. At least Tony seemed to be at ease now. Peter had been afraid that he would go back to staring at the wall again as soon as the others were gone. Instead, the three of them were sitting in silence, with Rhodey trying to start a conversation now and then. Tony usually nodded or answered monosyllabically in return, but Peter thought it was an improvement.

They sat there for another hour. When Tony noticed that Peter's cup was empty, he ordered him another hot chocolate and multiple cakes and cookies. Peter tried to protest, arguing that even he could not eat that many cakes, but Tony simply ignored his complaint. Therefore, he just drank hot chocolate and waited for the time to pass, not even trying to start a conversation because of the sweet, delicious cakes. It turned out that he had been wrong. He could eat that many cakes.

When they finally made their way back to the Quinjet, Peter had to keep himself from jumping up and down in excitement. He could swear he heard Tony mumbling something about Rhodey needing to interfere when he was about to let Peter consume that much sugar the next time.


End file.
